With chants like “This is what democracy looks like” and “Build a fence around Mike Pence,” today, January 21, 2017, the New York State Young Democrats participated in the Women’s March on New York City. Members from across the city and the Hudson Valley peacefully took to the streets of New York and we made our voices heard. Going from Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza to Trump Tower, throughout the day, we were joined by various elected officials including Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, Assemblywoman Rebecca Seawright, City Councilwoman Margaret Chin, and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer.

Marching alongside 500,000 other New Yorkers and hundreds of thousands more in sister marches across the globe, we stood united in saying that we will not be silenced. We said that we will not stand idly by while a man who jokes about sexually assaulting women occupies the Oval Office. We showed we will fight back when our Commander in Chief insults the disabled, veterans, immigrants, minorities, Muslims, and women.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer today claimed that more people attended President Trump’s inauguration than both protests in D.C. or either of President Obama’s inaugurations and any photographs to the contrary are proof of media manipulation. From the outpouring I saw today, I would say that Mr. Spicer is perpetuating “fake news.”

Though we have had some setbacks, for the next 1,460 days, we must stand united and be vigilant. We must fight to ensure that our health care is not taken away. We must fight to protect the freedom of our press. We must fight to be protect the right to marry the person we love.

To quote a famous Democrat, “The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dreams shall never die.”